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Sizemore leaves game after being hit by pitch

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Three A's players were hit by a pitch in as many innings Sunday, and one came out in worse shape than the others.

Second baseman Scott Sizemore suffered a left hand bruise in his third at-bat against Rockies right-hander Tyler Chatwood, and he was taken out the next inning when he experienced trouble getting a good grip on the bat.

Sizemore was seen leaving the A's clubhouse with his left hand wrapped, though he said in passing that it was "nothing too serious," or at least he hoped.

Manager Bob Melvin also wants to believes that's the case, telling reporters that it "didn't look like a fracture" but, rather, a minor soft-tissue injury. The A's will wait until swelling subsides in Sizemore's hand and determine Monday morning if he needs to have an X-ray.

The infielder has already had one too many tough breaks in his young career, missing all of 2012 while rehabbing from a torn ACL just two years after a broken ankle derailed his rookie season with the Tigers.

"He's a tough kid," Melvin said. "He's had a couple of tough injuries in the last four years, and that's the last thing you want to see happen, but hopefully it's nothing too serious."

Sizemore is in battle, primarily with Jemile Weeks, for the second-base job this spring, and he did his part Sunday by notching two hits in his first two at-bats, after collecting just one in his previous 10 at-bats.

"He's working hard, hadn't gotten many results, even though he was hitting some balls hard," Melvin said, "and so it's always nice to get a couple of hits and feel good about staying with the plan that you have."